Hagia Irene served as Constantinople’s patriarchal cathedral before Hagia Sophia was completed.
The church stands in the outer courtyard of Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace. Its name means “Holy Peace,” and it is traditionally associated with an earlier Christian sanctuary on the site. After the Nika riots destroyed much of Constantinople in 532, Emperor Justinian I rebuilt the church, although its present form also reflects later repairs.
Hagia Irene was not converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest. Instead, it was used for military storage and later became a museum and concert venue. It is often confused with Hagia Sophia because both were major imperial churches, but Hagia Irene is smaller and lacks Hagia Sophia’s famous pendentive-supported dome.
The building is also important for the history of the Byzantine Iconoclast controversy: a cross rather than a figural image dominates its apse, probably reflecting the restoration of the church in the eighth or ninth century.